Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Seminar spotlight: Introduction to High Country Plants & Habitats

It’s one of the worst droughts on record, so that means there aren’t any flowers in the Mono Basin this year, right? Wrong!

Caption caption. Photo by Robbie Di Paolo.
Species of paintbrush are blooming brightly at many Mono Basin elevations, from riparian corridors where interns measure streamflow to alpine meadows. Photo by Robbie Di Paolo.

It’s one of the best wildflower years in the Eastern Sierra, thanks to the above-average precipitation we’ve received in May, June, and so far in July. The flowers are responding enthusiastically, so don’t miss the Introduction to High Country Plants & Habitats field seminar, scheduled for the peak of the summer bloom. Plants, animals, insects, geology, and weather all interact quickly during the short growing season, and this seminar is a guide to it all.

Introduction to High Country Plants & Habitats • July 31–August 2 • $165 per person/$150 for members • sign up here

Prickly poppies have been in full bloom along the Mono Basin's moraines this year. Photo by Sandra Noll.
Prickly poppies have been in full bloom along the Mono Basin’s moraines this year. Photo by Sandra Noll.

Instructor Ann Howald is a retired consulting botanist who specializes in rare plant and conservation issues. Her engaging way of demystifying complicated plant structures and naming conventions brings participants back for multiple seminars.

Instructor Ann Howald. Photo by Elin Ljung.
Consulting botanist Ann Howald has a warm, engaging teaching style, and an encyclopedic knowledge of plants’ Latin names! Photo by Elin Ljung.

Though Ann’s expertise is plant-related, she involves the entire ecosystem—birds, insects, weather patterns, and any other subjects that participants wish to learn about. The Eastern Sierra’s varied habitats are fascinating, busy places, so come take a guided look at all that activity with the Introduction to High Country Plants & Habitats field seminar.

Mountain heather and?? Photo by Sandra Noll.
Various heather blossoms carpet the forest floor during summer. Photo by Sandra Noll.

Introduction to High Country Plants & Habitats • July 31–August 2 • $165 per person/$150 for members • sign up here

Flowers are blooming everywhere in the Mono Basin, From the pumice flats east of Mono Lake, to the high meadows near Tioga Pass. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.
Flowers are blooming everywhere in the Mono Basin, From the pumice flats east of Mono Lake, to the high meadows near Tioga Pass. Photo by Arya Degenhardt.